Han Palace, somewhere on the edge of the palace square.

A deadly scene was taking place.

Dozens of people were either standing or lying on the ground, all in complete silence, staring at the pair of fresh jade hands.

Zhao Rong narrowed his eyes slightly, looked for a while, and felt that he shouldn't eat too much wonton stew this morning.

It’s all Xiao Qian’er’s fault. She pushed all the wontons in her bowl into his bowl.

"Well, this snack sent by King Li Xian is quite interesting."

Zhao Rong chuckled and nodded, breaking the silence.

He walked forward nonchalantly, picked up the lid, closed the food box, and then handed it to a palace maid who seemed to be brave enough and gave her a look.

The latter stepped forward with trembling legs, trying to take the food box.

However, the guard who knelt down and presented the box shook his head and said, "The prince also said that Your Majesty, as a man of the Li royal family, will definitely be able to take it by himself."

Beside the little emperor, there were two girls who followed him closely. One of them frowned, stood in front of the little emperor, and said lightly, "You bold servant, how dare you talk to His Majesty..."

However, the next second, the little emperor reached out and tugged at the sleeve of the girl in front of him, interrupting her words.

At this time, the young man in dragon robe had already stood up from the ground.

The fear on his face had mostly disappeared, and now he was just in a state of expressionless numbness.

He looked at the still warm food box, and tried to open his dry lips several times before saying, "I... I'm fine."

Zhao Rong, Zhang Huizhi, the young guards, and the two girls brought by Dugu, all looked at the little emperor at the same time.

Observe intently.

The young man in the dragon robe lowered his head and patted his sleeves. When he raised his head again, a forced smile appeared on his pale face.

"Thank the Emperor's uncle for me... I will study hard."

He moved, stared at the food box, walked forward slowly, and finally came to the young guard and opened the food box himself.

Zhao Rong watched quietly.

As if stung by the smell of blood, the little emperor turned his head slightly and avoided looking at the food box.

The young guard bowed and stood up.

The young man in dragon robe said softly, "What's your name? You've worked hard on my uncle's behalf. I want to reward you."

The young guard lowered his eyes, flattered and humbly said his name, calmly accepted some silver handed to him by the palace maid, and left.

After he left, everyone on the field fell silent again.

The little emperor held the food box, said nothing, and walked slowly towards the imperial study.

Zhang Huizhi stepped forward and ordered the palace maids and eunuchs to fetch the sedan chair.

He was the little emperor's teacher, and the little emperor respected him, so now everyone listened to Zhang Huizhi.

The little emperor got on the sedan chair. This time he did not refuse and said he would travel on foot.

After a busy period, everyone prepared to return to the imperial study.

Zhang Huizhi turned around and bowed to the young Confucian scholar who had been silent all this time.

"Mr. Zhao, would you like to come sit in the Imperial Study Room with me? Today, His Majesty is going to study poetry. Mr. Zhao is an expert in poetry and can give His Majesty some pointers."

Zhao Rong nodded in agreement without much hesitation.

I didn't care whether it was just a polite remark.

He turned his head and glanced at the young man in dragon robe sitting on the sedan chair. The food box was placed on his legs and half-held by his hands. The young man in dragon robe had a dazed expression on his face.

Zhao Rong nodded slightly. Yes, the beautiful hand that the young man had been dreaming about not long ago was now in the box on his legs.

Leave it quietly.

This Li Mingyi... Zhao Rong lowered his eyes.

"Your Majesty, you are very brave today, far beyond your peers." Zhang Huizhi suddenly said softly.

At this time, Zhao Rong and Zhang Huizhi were following the sedan chair on their way back to the imperial study.

Seemingly quite satisfied with Zhao Rong's performance just now, Zhang Huizhi took the initiative to talk to Zhao Rong.

Zhao Rong nodded slightly.

This brother Zhang was praising the little emperor's performance in the second half of the performance, and in the end he personally took the food box.

In fact, the initial panic and embarrassment is not that important. What is important is that after encountering this thing, you can calm down quickly and learn the lesson.

So after this incident, the little emperor should be able to grow a lot.

In fact, this is what Zhang Huizhi and he valued...

Zhao Rong said softly: "The colt of a tiger or leopard has not yet grown into a pattern, but it has the spirit of eating cattle."

Zhang Huizhi continued: "The hub of a swan, whose feathers are not yet fully grown, has a heart that can reach the world."

The two Confucian scholars from the academy smiled in tacit understanding.

Zhang Huizhi's face, which looked like it was chopped by a knife or an axe, was instantly filled with a smile. He said in a firm tone:

"Given time, Your Majesty will surely be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the late emperor."

Zhao Rong raised his eyelids and glanced at him.

Do you really want to be the emperor's teacher and help the dragon ascend to the throne?

But it is also true that among all the Confucian scholars who aspire to a career in politics and are eager to devise strategies to stabilize the country, there is almost no one who does not want to be the emperor's teacher.

Throughout the ages, not only Confucian scholars, but all scholars of various schools of thought, who want to realize their ambitions and govern the country, have only two ways to go:

One from top to bottom.

One from bottom to top.

Whether in the previous life or in this world, the mainstream is the former, and it is even regarded as the only way, and scholars flock to it one after another.

As for the latter path, Zhao Rong has been reading recently and looking through hundreds of schools of thought, but he has not seen anyone taking this path, not even a hint...

The so-called "top-down" is, very simply, nothing more than assisting the top rulers, or becoming the rulers themselves, and promoting the doctrine of top-down.

Radiating down from the top of the pyramid.

In this secular dynasty, apart from being a god sent by heaven and rebelling to become emperor, is there anything easier to "supremely powerful" than being an emperor's teacher?

At this moment, Zhao Rong nodded in his heart.

But on his face, he just said "hmm" lightly.

No comment.

Zhang Huizhi suddenly asked, "Brother Zhao, what do you think of His Majesty?"

Zhao Rong nodded, "Your Majesty is of course very good, it is a blessing for the people of Dali, and with the assistance of Brother Zhang and other gentlemen, it is like a tiger with wings. When I come to Dali again in the future, I will definitely make great progress with each passing day."

He smiled.

Zhang Huier turned around, glanced at him, and didn't ask any more questions.

The young scholar looked at the sedan chair in front of him and blinked.

In fact, what Zhao Rong said simply and directly meant: I have no intention of staying here, no matter if you are testing me or really welcome me to recruit talents for the little emperor, I will not stay anyway...

After a while, the two people on the road started chatting again, and this time Zhao Rong spoke first.

"Where are you from, Brother Zhang?"

"Da Li."

"Oh? Linlu Academy is right next to us. Why did Brother Zhang travel thousands of miles away from home to go to the southernmost Siqi Academy..." Zhao Rong paused, smiled and shook his head, "I don't mean to disparage Siqi Academy. I have a good friend who is also from Siqi Academy. Like Brother Zhang, he is an outstanding person."

Zhang Huizhi shook his head, "I am stupid, not a rare talent. To be honest with you, I didn't want to go to Linlu Academy. On the contrary, I was thinking about it day and night. However, Linlu didn't want me, so I didn't get in in the end."

He paused for a moment, as if recalling something from his youth, and sighed:

"Don't worry, Brother Zhao. I have no grudges or grudges. It's just that I didn't meet the standards of Linlu Academy at that time. I wasted two years outside the school and was not favored by the teachers.

"But looking back now... I was indeed uneducated, conceited, and too arrogant. Then, with a surge of stubbornness, I grabbed my bag and went south to Siqi... Time really flies. Twelve years have passed in a flash."

The thin censor sighed.

Zhao Rong said with a smile, "Brother Zhang is open-minded. Well, in fact, good things come to those who wait. Later, Brother Zhang was admitted to Siqi Academy. Siqi Academy is as famous as Linluo."

He suddenly thought of himself. After all, Zhao Rong was also from the south, not the north.

Zhao Rong: "I think Brother Zhang must have gained some experience on his way south, or met a teacher who appreciated him, and then successfully entered Siqi Academy, so that his pearl would not be lost in the dust... This is also a good story."

Zhang Huizhi was startled for a moment, and raised his head slightly, gazing at the white clouds above the eaves of the palace wall in front of him.

"Oh, that's true. Thank you for the compliment, Brother Zhao."

He whispered softly.

Zhao Rong glanced at Zhang Huizhi, who seemed a little distracted.

Zhao Rong, who was always good at chatting, stopped talking and didn't disturb them.

He just turned back...

"Brother Zhao."

The thin censor suddenly said.

"Brother Zhang, what's the matter?"

"How about we have some wine together on a sunny day when we are free some other day?"

The young scholar thought for a moment and said, "Well, of course, if Brother Zhang and I are both free, we can make an appointment. But Brother Zhang knows that I have been very busy recently, so we'll have to wait and see."

The thin imperial censor nodded, "Of course, we can drink wine on a sunny day, but we can't miss the Fengshan event. I will set a suitable time another day."

The young scholar smiled and joked, "Brother Zhang, you have a story to tell."

"There are indeed some interesting things. I will tell you what you want to hear, Brother Zhao. However, the most important thing is that you should not waste the good wine... Don't... waste the good wine."

Huh, I didn't expect that Brother Zhang lives in poverty, but is also a drunkard... Zhao Rong thought to himself.

He nodded, "That's natural, but it's not advisable to drink too much..."

Two Confucian scholars from the North and South academies followed the dragon sedan chair, chatting all the way, and soon arrived at the imperial study.

…

A study room filled with books and decorated in a simple and luxurious style.

The little emperor sat on a chair covered with bright yellow satin.

The food box in his hand was gone, and he was wearing a purple uniform. His face had regained some color.

Zhao Rong and Zhang Huizhi were also sitting on chairs. As teachers, they were allowed to sit there.

At this time, the two of them also had imperial tea served to them by palace maids.

There were only three of them in the imperial study at the moment.

Even within dozens of meters outside the room, there was no one in sight.

Xianyue Li Nu and the guards were standing guard at a distance.

This was driven away by the little emperor on the pretext of studying quietly.

But Zhao Rong thought it was normal. The emperor also needed a private space, especially to discuss important matters with his close friends...

At this time, inside the room, the little emperor showed an apologetic smile and said to Zhao Rong and Zhang Hui:

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhao, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you just now."

Zhao Rong shook his head, staring at the young man's smile, without saying a word.

Zhang Huizhi put down his teacup, stood up and waved his sleeves, saying, "Your Majesty, why are you saying that I am embarrassed? Your Majesty's performance just now amazed me, especially the last moment, when you faced a huge crisis without showing any emotion. Your Majesty has already shown some style. I believe that given time..."

With a serious face, he praised and encouraged the little emperor again, and then began to teach him patiently.

The little emperor listened attentively and nodded vigorously.

An occasional shy and modest remark.

However, Zhang Huizhi did not mention the incident of the food box breaking his hand just now.

How dare outsiders touch upon the disputes and grudges within the royal family?

The little emperor seemed to have let the matter pass, always with a smile on his face, and listened attentively.

Although I was scared by this horrific experience in my youth, I forgot it very quickly...

Zhao Rong was leisurely drinking tea and reading a book.

I did not disturb the harmonious relationship between teachers and students.

He is an outsider.

The positioning is very clear.

The young Confucian scholar nodded slightly. There were quite a lot of books in the emperor's study, and there were many precious and rare copies. Most of them were brand new and rarely read. They were a good deal for him now.

When the time came, the little emperor began his studies and continued to study hard under the guidance of Zhang Huizhi.

Whenever he encountered some questions that he didn't know the answer to, he would immediately ask Zhang Huizhi and Zhao Rong.

However, I asked more about the former, because it was mainly about scriptures, and I only asked Zhao Rong about questions about poetry.

The young emperor and Zhang Huizhi both thought that Zhao Rong was a talented and elegant Confucian scholar who was good at poetry.

The way Zhao Rong taught the little emperor was in a very relaxed and casual atmosphere, occasionally making a few jokes and telling some interesting metaphors.

The young man couldn't help but look at Zhao Rong a few more times, and the smile on his face became more intense.

However, Zhang Huizhi's educational method is completely different from Zhao Rong's.

For example, when reciting scriptures, if the little emperor recited fluently like water pouring out of a silver bottle, then Zhang Huizhi would praise Your Majesty's wisdom and intelligence, like a loyal subject.

If the young emperor encountered unfamiliar scriptures and read them haltingly or made spelling errors, Zhang Huizhi would act like a strict teacher and question him harshly, using words that would make the young emperor feel ashamed.

This time he was a minister, and sometimes he was a strict teacher, which made Zhao Rong who was standing by the side find it quite interesting...

About an hour later, the little emperor looked at the hourglass beside the table and said to Zhang Huizhi:

"Mr. Zhang, my mother wants me to come over early for dinner today, saying that she has some fresh food."

Zhang Huizhi, who was sitting upright, nodded and left school early.

The little emperor smiled and asked the two Confucian scholars if they wanted to go to his mother's house for dinner.

Of course Zhao Rong and Zhang Huizhi declined.

The two of them bowed, said goodbye and left.

However, with the little emperor's permission, Zhao Rong picked up two books and took them away.

On the corridor outside the imperial study.

Zhang Huizhi told Zhao Rong that he had something urgent to do, so he quickened his pace and walked first.

Zhao Rong, who was flipping through a book with his head down, fell behind.

There was no one around the veranda at this time.

Zhao Rong was walking and suddenly stopped.

As if he had thought of something, he put the book into his sleeve, pursed his lips, suddenly turned around and returned the same way.

Zhao Rong came to the study and took a quick look.

There is no one in the house.

He stood still for a moment, moved his ears slightly, turned his head and walked directly towards the west window.

In front of the window, the young scholar lowered his eyes.

Outside the west window, which was carefully cultivated by the palace maids to be splendid and prosperous, there was a young man, holding his knees with his fists clenched, curled up against the wall, trying his best to suppress his voice, and sobbing with his head buried...

Next to him, there was a food box lying on its side, bleeding.

The inky black floral mud under the box was dyed a bright red.

Zhao Rong rolled up his sleeves and watched in silence...